I really enjoy making brunch for my husband and family on weekend days when we aren’t rushing off to a hike or to church. But  we’re all big fans of sleeping in, so I am always on the lookout for dishes that don’t require me to get up early to prepare. Because if Hubby and kids are sleeping in, I better get to sleep in too .

This recipe is super quick and easy (I can get it fully assembled by the time the oven heats up), uses just four ingredients (yay!), and is positively delicious. It’s been a big hit with the whole family. I slimmed the original recipe down by substituting lighter ingredients, but even this lighter version tastes fattening. We have tried it with both regular sugar and Splenda, and no one could tell the difference. Serve it with fresh fruit for a full breakfast.

I just love recipes that call for only a handful of ingredients. I’ve tried this dish sugar and with Splenda sweetener, and we could not tell the difference.

Combine Neufchatel and sugar. I use a hand mixer, but whisk or fork will work.

Preheat oven to 375ºF. Unroll dough into four rectangles; firmly press perforations together to seal.

Spread mixture onto dough rectangles to within 1/2 inch of edges.

Top evenly with blueberries.

Bring opposite corners of rectangles together; press together to seal.

Place on ungreased baking sheet. Bake 11 to 13 min. or until golden brown.

Serve warm.

One boring Saturday when college football wasn’t in season, I was channel surfing on the couch looking for something worth watching on tv, when I stumbled across “Cowboy’s Kitchen” on Rural TV–Now RFD-TV.  Immediately attracted by the title, I watched an episode or two, and was immediately hooked.  The host, Grady Spears, cooks everything on an open fire with a grill or cast iron pans or dutch ovens, and all the recipes are western/southwestern inspired, suitable for camp cooking (and you know how I like good camp cooking) or a backyard bbq.  To add to the flavor of the show, he cooks it all outdoors with his buddy playing the guitar in the back ground and a group of a dozen or so people sitting in camp chairs watching him, and occasionally asking a question.  Production values are not terribly high, but the food is good and Grady is entertaining and informative.

The first dish I’ve made from his show is his Jalapeno Beef Stew, which immediately became the best stew I’d ever made.  It has a bit of a kick (though not as much as you’d think), so we’ll continue to make the kids’ “Best Stew Ever” when they’re eating with us, but the Cowboy Kitchen Jalapeno Beef Stew will definitely stay on our rotation when it’s just us grown-ups eating.

It was remarkably easy, and uses rib-eye steak, which makes for a more tender and tasty meat than your average stew meat, but if you wanted to save a few bucks, I’m sure you could just use that instead.  I was tempted to do so myself, since I initially struggled with the idea of putting a perfectly good steak into a stew, but in the end, it was totally worth it.  We served it with “Mosley’s Jalapeno Cornbread”, a favorite of ours, but any cornbread or rolls would do.

Unfortunately, Cowboy’s Kitchen doesn’t appear to be running on RFD-TV anymore, and the nearest thing to it, Campfire Cafe, also on RFD-TV has such painfully low production values that it can be painful to watch.  I’m just glad I found the show when I did.  You can also buy any number of cookbooks by Grady Spear’s, including “A Cowboy in the Kitchen”, which apparently includes this recipe.

We halved the recipe for the two of us (which is the version below) and cooked it on the stove top in a ceramic Dutch oven, but if you want to do it on the coals with cast iron, more power to you!

Raw materials for Jalapeno Beef Stew–all simple ingredients.

Veggies diced and ready to go in dutch oven.

Ribeye steak chunks dredged in seasoned flour.

Veggies cooking in the butter.

Adding the steak.

Meat is browned and ready for liquids.

Stock and wine added–I was a little skeptical at how watery it looked at this point.

But after simmering a bit–it’s stew!

Served with cornbread. That there is some good eatin’!

First things first–we’re not Jewish, so I’m not trying to pretend I’m some sort of expert on Passover meals.  But as a Christian, sharing a good portion of our scriptures with them, I am a fan of Jewish traditions.  For similar reasons, and because of the importance of the Passover tradition in the Easter story (the Last Supper was either a Passover meal or preparation for Passover, depending on who you ask), Colleen’s father started teaching the rituals of the Seder for their church years ago, and has purchased all the place settings and items to go along with it.  Last year, we asked him to conduct a Seder for our Sunday School class at Rose Drive Friends Church, and we turned it into a potluck, with each family bringing items from a traditional Passover dinner.

The Last Supper, by Leonardo Da Vinci. Not pictured: Emeril’s Passover Brisket.

As a fan of meat, and having had mixed success with smoked brisket in the past, I immediately volunteered to do a brisket as a main course, figuring I’d find a recipe somewhere.  Colleen put a shout out to some of our Jewish friends on Facebook and elsewhere for some of their family recipes, but while we did get good recipes for Charoset and Matzoh Ball Soup, we didn’t get anything for brisket.

I’ve always heard that Passover brisket (well, all brisket, actually) can be tough and bland and fatty, and I am way too proud to bring a tough, bland, and fatty piece of meat to a potluck, so I turned to everyone’s favorite Jewish chef, Emeril Lagasse, and his “Passover Brisket” recipe.

Okay, maybe he’s not Jewish, either.  But we’ve almost never gone wrong with an Emeril recipe, and I was confident that while it might still be tough or fatty, it definitely wouldn’t be bland.  And in doing my research, I found many comments and blogs referencing serving this brisket at legit Seders at legit Jewish homes, so I don’t think I cheated too much by using his recipe.

In the end, it was great!  It turned out tender and tasty, and not only was it great for Passover, but it was probably the best non-bbq/smoked style brisket we’d ever had.  With briskets running anywhere from 5-10 pounds, I can highly recommend this brisket if you need to feed a crowd for any occasion.

Raw materials for Emeril’s Passover Brisket.

Trimming the fat off the brisket. Definitely will help make it less fatty.

A boatload of garlic. It is an Emeril recipe, after all…

Brisket studded with garlic slivers.

After it has browned on top a bit, flip it over.

The other side of the browned brisket.

Brisket cooked, with beef broth.

Cooking the onion.

Salt, pepper, Emeril’s Essence, onion powder, and garlic pepper.

Previous dry ingredients mixed with ketchup, chili sauce, and brown sugar.

Sauce for the brisket.

Onion layered on the brisket.

Onioned and sauced.

After final baking.

Pulled out for slicing.

Sliced and ready to serve.

Plated with matza kugel and tzimmes.

This spicy healthy soup is one of our new favorites a the Greene house. It’s essentially a shrimp version of Posole, yet packs the chili lime avocado punch of our previously reviewed Mexican Chili Lime Soup. Aside from shelling and deveining the shrimp, the whole dish comes together in 20 minutes, making this a great week night dinner. I could easily eat this soup every week and not tire of it.

Spicy isn’t your thing? Just ease up on, or omit, the chipotles in adobe.

Save yourself some time by chopping up the veggies and shelling and deveining the shrimp the night before.

Heat a Dutch oven or heavy pot over medium-high heat. Add oil to pan; swirl to coat. Add onion and next 6 ingredients (through garlic); cook 6 minutes or until carrot is crisp-tender, stirring occasionally.

Add broth, hominy, and tomatoes; bring to a boil. Cover and cook 6 minutes, stirring occasionally.

Add shrimp; cook 2 minutes or until shrimp are done.

Remove from heat; stir in juice and salt. Divide shrimp mixture evenly among 4 bowls; top evenly with chips and avocado. Garnish with cilantro, if desired.

Piccata is one of my favorite Italian dishes. Lemon, capers, wine, butter — what’s not to love? But, I never make it myself and rarely order it in restaurants because piccata is usually quite fat and calorie heavy.

This lighter version by Gina at SkinnyTaste.com tastes fabulous — even the kids loved it — yet is just 5 Weight Watchers PointsPlus per serving.  Our family likes to pour the sauce over whole wheat pasta.

Dip each flattened seasoned chicken breast in the egg.

Then dredge in the bread crumbs.

Cook the sprayed chicken 2-3 minutes on each side, until cooked through.

Over medium heat, melt butter, add the lemon juice, wine, chicken broth and the reserved lemon halves, salt, and pepper.

Boil over high heat until reduced in half, about 2 minutes. Discard the lemon halves, add the capers and serve one chicken cutlet on each plate.

Spoon sauce over chicken and serve.

Sourdough is probably my favorite bread, and I’ve always liked soups or chili served in sourdough bowls.  For some reason, though, up until this month, it had never occurred to me to try to make one myself–it was always one of those special treats reserved for visits to restaurants.  Earlier this month, we were trying to come up with a meal to pay tribute to the two Super Bowl teams.  We came up with Maryland Crab Soup for the Baltimore Ravens, and for San Francisco, we chose sourdough bread (in a close vote over Rice-a-Roni…).  To make it more interesting, we decided rather than just serving a roll on the side, we’d make it a sourdough bowl instead!

I looked around online, and found a few variations on the process, all of which looked simple enough to do myself. It turned out perfectly, and was quite easy to make.  In the end, while the  Maryland Crab Soup was tasty, it probably was not the best choice for a bread bowl–clear broths soak in to the bread too quickly.  But we do intend to make them again with one of our chilis or possibly a chowder, or maybe our split pea with ham soup.

Random note:  Did you know sourdough boule is not a fancy way to say bowl?  It’s actually French for “ball”, which is the type of bread you need to make a bowl.  The more you know…

Two six-inch sourdough boules.

Slice off the top third or so of the boule.

Using a paring knife, make a cut a quarter inch from the edge of the boule all the way around, going just deep enough to not penetrate the bottom.

Carefully peel the disc of bread out of the boule. It came out in one piece for me.

Rub melted butter or olive oil inside the bowl–or use an olive oil spray.

Bake at 350 degrees until lightly browned, and serve!

Sourdough bowl filled with Maryland Crab Soup!

Jeff and I like to have fun with our Super Bowl eats every year, creating a team-themed menu that represents cuisine from each of the two teams’ regions. Super Bowl XLVII saw a match-up between the San Francisco 49ers and the Baltimore Ravens, so we immediately thought “crab” and “sourdough” — but we haven’t had success yet at making crab cakes. A little bit of research solved the problem when I discovered that crab soup is another classic Baltimore dish.

According to the articles I read, Maryland style crab soup is tomato-based, unlike a New England style creamy chowder. Not surprising, there are a ton of recipe variations out there for this dish, but I opted to go with one from a Baltimore, Maryland culinary institution — Old Bay. This classic soup could not be easier to make. It’s filled with a couple handfuls of simple inexpensive ingredients from your pantry and freezer….plus crab, which is not cheap, at least out here in So Cal ($20 for enough crab meat to make just 1/2 a batch of soup). For convenience, we chose vacuum-packed crab meat instead of shelling the fresh or frozen stuff.

This dish was quick to throw together, and is ridiculously lean and healthy. The flavor is subtle but hearty. Since we needed to pair it with a San Francisco culinary item, we served our crab soup in sourdough bread bowls, however this soup has too thin a broth for bread bowls…all the broth got sopped up into the bread almost immediately after serving. Save your bread bowls for thicker cream-based soups, and instead serve this crab soup with a slice of crusty bread on the side.

Simple ingredients, and aside from the crab meat, cheap! We made just a half batch of soup since the recipe yields such a big quantity (10 servings).

Combine tomatoes, water, broth, lima beans, carrots, corn, onions and Old Bay in 4-quart saucepan.

Bring to boil on medium heat. Reduce heat to low. Cover and simmer 5 minutes.

Add crabmeat.

Cover and simmer 10 minutes.

How delicious is this???

With Mardi Gras approaching this coming week, we want to provide you with a selection of our favorite New Orleans flavors to feast on until Fat Tuesday (or all year round, like we do). Creole and Cajun cuisine doesn’t have to be fattening. We have put a healthy spin on these dishes without sacrificing a single bit of flavor. So laissez les bons temps rouler!.. Let the good times roll!

Easy Slow Cooker Jambalaya

This delicious jambalaya is conveniently prepared in a slow cooker. Excellent choice for Super Bowl, a hectic weekend, or even a busy work day. 8 to 10 PointsPlus per serving.

Slow Cooker Jambalaya

Grilled Shrimp Po’ Boys

A flavorful, fresh tasting grilled shrimp po’ boy sandwich, based on a Neely’s recipe, but way healthier than you’d usually find in New Orleans.

Grilled Shrimp Po’ Boys

Rich Shrimp Etouffee

Shrimp etouffee is a spicy New Orleans Cajun/Creole classic that will make your taste buds tingle! At just 6 Weight Watchers PointsPlus per serving, this rich dish is deceptively easy on the waist.

Shrimp Etouffee

Tangy Spicy Shrimp Creole

This easy Creole dish is packed with spicy flavor, and is smothered in a tomato-based sauce instead of a roux like etouffee. Just 6 PointsPlus per serving.

Spicy Shrimp Creole

Creole Split Pea Soup with Andouille

A delicious Creole twist on a classic soup. And with andouille sausage! At 10 PointsPlus per serving, no need to feel guilty enjoying a big ol’ bowl.

Creole Split Pea Soup with Andouille

Cajun Stuffed Chicken

Got a freezer-full of chicken but sick of chicken? Spice it up by stuffing it with a creole-inspired seafood mixture! 13 to 15 PointsPlus per serving.

Cajun Stuffed Chicken

Creative Commons licensed “Mardis Gras” photo by Flickr user cobblucas.

We at the Greene House love the flavors of New Orleans, both Creole and Cajun cuisine. Although similar to an etouffee, this shrimp dish is simmered in a tomato-based sauce rather than a roux, which makes it much healthier. We like to toss in some okra, and we prefer to use crushed rather than whole tomatoes for our version of this dish. Increase or decrease the cayenne and hot sauce to adjust the spicy heat to your comfort level. If you peel and de-vein the shrimp the night before, this recipe actually comes together well for a quick week night dinner.

Serve over cooked rice, or by itself in a bowl using a big chunk of hearty bread to sop up the sauce.

Cook garlic, onions, celery, and peppers. Cook until softened, about 5 minutes.

Stir in cayenne and let caramelize.

Add the seafood stock, tomatoes, okra, Worcestershire, hot sauce, and bay leaves. Season with salt and pepper.

Simmer for 35 minutes.

Add shrimp.

Cook about 4 more minutes, until shrimp are bright pink and cooked through.

Are you hosting or attending a Super Bowl party this Sunday? Whether you’re planning the full menu, just the main entree, or simply need a great dish to bring, our recipe picks for Super Bowl XLVII will impress your guests, hosts, and friends. Even if the big game turns out to be a dud, you can make sure the food is exceptional and memorable using any of our recipes.

Smoked & Grilled Meats

Jeff’s Grilled Tri-Tip

Jeff’s excellent smoked trip-tip recipe is always a huge hit with our family and with our guests. We have yet to find anyone else who makes it this good — even the pros. At 4 PointsPlus per serving, this dish will satisfy your cavemen guests and those trying to keep fit.

Jeff’s Grilled Tri-Tip

Jeff’s Really Tasty Ribs

Jeff’s ultra tasty finger-licking pork baby back ribs turn out so juicy, tender and meaty. Game day doesn’t get any better than this! 5 PointsPlus for 2 ribs.

Jeff’s Really Tasty Ribs

Smoked Pork Tenderloin

Pork loin is one of the very easiest and tastiest things you can do on a smoker, and there are many rubs, marinades, and sauces you can play with to customize it to your own tastes! A super healthy option, at only 5 to 6 PointsPlus per serving.

Smoked Pork Tenderloin

Hearty Chili

Bobby Flay’s Green Pork Chili

One of our very favorite chili dishes! Tender juicy pork with flavorful roasted vegetables that pack a bit of a kick.  You’ll want to lick the bowl! 14 PointsPlus per serving, including tortillas.

Bobby Flay’s Pork Green Chili “Chili Verde”

Spicy Smoky Slow Cooker Pork Chili

A chili dish too good to be true. Healthy (only 7 Weight Watchers points), incredibly tasty, and all from the convenience of a slow cooker. And lots of pork! Let it crockpot all day while you relax.

Spicy Smoky Slow Cooker Pork Chili

Slow Cooker Turkey Chili

A delicious easy healthy chili packed with ground turkey, beans and fresh veggies. Perfect for a hearty game day dish. Only 5 Weight Watchers PointsPlus per serving!

Slow Cooker Turkey Chili

Burgers and Sandwiches

Spicy Whiskey BBQ Sliders

These spicy, whiskey, BBQ sliders from the Pioneer Woman are super tasty and great as a dinner or as a snack for a party or game watch! At 11 Weight Watchers PointsPlus per slider, these are a bit of a splurge.

Spicy Whiskey BBQ Sliders

Healthy Cheesesteak Sandwiches

This healthy twist on meaty cheesy cheesesteaks have all the flavor, without all the fat. A family-favorite. And, if you are counting, just 9 PointsPlus per sandwich.

Healthy Cheesesteak Sandwiches

Easy Slow Cooker Beef Dip Sandwiches

These easy tender crockpot beef dip sandwiches are a big hit with our family, and perfect for a a busy game day party at home. Let your dinner guests top with the cheese and condiments of their choice. 8 PointsPlus per serving.

Easy Slow Cooker Beef Dip Sandwiches

Appetizers and Sides

Atomic Buffalo Turds (Sausage Stuffed Jalapeno Poppers)

A tasty, smoky, spicy treat that is an awesome BBQ appetizer for heat-tolerant friends. Jalapenos, cream cheese, lit’l smokies and bacon! You’ll guests will crowd the grill waiting for these to be done.

Atomic Buffalo Turds

Dad’s Clam Dip

Jeff’s dad’s clam dip and chips recipe, perfect for sitting and munching in front of a football game, and a family favorite. Tastes best made the night before, which means less work for you on game day.

Dad’s Clam Dip

Lighter Paula Deen’s Creamy Slow Cooker Mac & Cheese

Mac and cheese is always a hit with kids and adults. With a few simple substitutions, I made this excellent kid-approved comfort dish much healthier — only 4 Points! — without scrimping on any flavor.

Lighter Paula Deen’s Creamy Slow Cooker Mac & Cheese